People showed up early in Gibsons and they kept coming. Cars streamed into Legion Branch 109’s parking lot and then streamed back out – it was full by 10:30 a.m.
The setup was the same: about 20 plastic blue chairs reserved for veterans faced the cenotaph and behind, an ever-expanding crowd leaning against the legion’s railings, coffee cups in gloved hands, poppies on coats, anticipation palpable for the first fully public Remembrance Day ceremony in two years. Everyone came, it seemed, but the rain.
“That COVID delay was pretty quiet,” said Frank LeGros, who’s attended every year for 20 years. He stood at the mast beside the cenotaph and took in the crowd.
Within minutes the ceremony was underway – the formality of the March on the Colours and accompanying Air and Sea Cadets broken briefly by an official asking attendees to part for the procession. A bugler’s rendition of the "Last Post" pierced the quieting crowd.
LeGros, who served in the Air Force “right out of high school,” was the only other source of sound – a pulley clanged against the flagpole as he delivered the Canadian flag to half mast.
People bowed their heads for two minutes of silence and again for prayer, offered by Branch 109 Chaplain Jaz Ghag.
This year several of the blue chairs sat empty. Presenter and legion First Vice President Sarah Parker-Jervis said this was the second year without a Second World War veteran present. Instead, Service Officer Garry Singbeil laid the wreath in their honour. “We don’t have very many of them left, that’s for sure,” she said. “In the last year, we lost three veterans.” They were Robert Evans, Tom Adair and Eudon Rhymer.
Among the oldest veterans in attendance was Air Force and Canadian Airborne Regiment member, Brian Sadler, turning 80 in February, and who served in nearly every major conflict over his 35 years of service. The medals on his chest prove he’s been everywhere. A young cadet helped him place a wreath. The veteran, who only comes once a year to the legion, "couldn't get over how quickly the crowd gathered."
A stream of local government officials, business and union leaders, nonprofit representatives, veterans and others laid wreaths and paid respects.
The last moments of the ceremony were bookended by the March on the Colours, this time punctuated by a spontaneous speech delivered by Commanding Parade Officer Ron Joyce, who led the march. His words weren’t intended for those in attendance. Facing the wreaths blanketing the cenotaph, he spoke to those who were not.
“There are not as many of us as there once were, but those of us who are here, save a place for us at the table of heroes when it’s our turn. We may not be worthy to sit with you, but we’ll stand behind you and beside you,” he said.
Afterwards, an indoor ceremony was held - the first since 2019. “For a lot of people, this ceremony is very important to them. So not being able to have it the last couple of years, I’m sure was disheartening,” said Parker-Jervice. Chaplain Ghag offered more prayer, former legion president Wilma Jones recalled memories of her parents going to war, followed by reading of "In Flanders Fields" by Matthew Douglas, Warrant Officer First Class with the Gibsons Air Cadets.
“It was great to be able to bring everybody back together,” said Parker-Jervis.
Crowds gather across coast
Thick crowds of people lined Cowrie Street near the cenotaph in Sechelt's Acacia Park for a full return to normal Remembrance Day proceedings – no masks or caution tape as in previous years. More than 65 wreaths were laid during the formal ceremony, as a giant Canadian flag hoisted on the Sechelt Fire Department's firetruck waved overhead.
About 200 people attended a brief ceremony at Legion Branch 219 in Roberts Creek.
shíshálh Nation also held a private ceremony for community members.
A ceremony was held in Madeira Park, with a march from the elementary school to the cenotaph at Pender Harbour Legion Branch 112.
Approximately 200 people gathered for the ceremony, including members of the Pender Harbour Volunteer Fire Department, Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCM-SAR), BC Ambulance Service and the RCMP. “We had a really good day,” said Lyn Charlton. The crowd was similar in size to those prior to the pandemic.
- With files from Keili Bartlett and Michael Gurney
